


The Morris System

by Echovous



Category: Warframe
Genre: Dehumanization, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Gen, Isolation, Multiple Personalities, Objectification, Selling copies of living Cephalons for a profit, an overwhelming amount of math (but they all love it)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29113263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echovous/pseuds/Echovous
Summary: After Cephalon Morris’ owner makes copies of her consciousness, she begins to experience strange phenomena.Each chapter’s title will be the POV of the original/alter in the Morris System.
Kudos: 4





	1. Cephalon Morris

**Author's Note:**

> Cephalon Morris is the “host” of the Morris System. Although all of the alters have their own Cephalon bodies, each are still connected to her and can hear/see each other’s surroundings. Some may even “front” Morris and take control of her body, whether that be intentional or not.
> 
> Unlike her alters, Morris is diligent, focused, and cares more for finance than she does for conversation.

“Right this way gentlemen, right this way.”

Cephalon Morris’ attention was momentarily torn from the Corpus stock market as she recognized the voice of her proprietor, Kazen Kensley. 

She focused back on the market, mostly ignoring the voices surrounding her as she watched the numbers rise and fall... Wait... _Voices?_ She minimized the stocks page and opened the camera to see Kazen standing in front of her with four businessmen.

“Here it is,” Kazen was speaking to the men but their eyes were scrutinizing the dim apartment.

“Is this really where you’re keeping your product? It’s far from ideal...”

“So far from ideal...”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we found a dead pobber!” 

The four men started to laugh, continuing to insult the interior. Kazen frowned but was quick to regain his charming smile. “I can assure you, gentlemen, my product is in the best of quality.”

“You better hope it is son, or else I’ll be expecting some credits for my time,” one of the men huffed, approaching the monitor. “Tell us about this Cephalon. How’s it supposed to ‘get us to the top?’”

“I’ll show you,” Kazen turned to face her. “Bring up the Corpus stock market,” he ordered. 

Cephalon Morris did as asked, bringing up the screen for the men to see. 

“Show me the next two months.”

She immediately ran her built-in index program and analyzed the numbers. Most of the stocks continued to rise as the Corpus stocks often did, but there was one major difference in the trend. 

“Nef Anyo’s stocks are about to plummet,” she announced. “It would be wise to sell.” 

She turned off the program, allowing the stocks to return to their current values for the businessmen to compare, but they were silent. Shocked, most likely. She’d been too. Nef Anyo’s stocks have done nothing but rise over the years. To have a drop was abnormal.

“So, gentlemen,” Kazen’s smile broadened. “What are we thinking? We like what we see?”

The men were silent a moment longer before one spoke up. “I don’t believe any of this. Nef’s operation on Venus has been nothing but a platinum mine!”

Kazen chuckled. “Would you like another look, sir?” 

“No. I’m out,” the man snapped and stormed out of the apartment. By the second pair of footsteps, it seemed to Morris as if another man followed him out.

Kazen seemed to lose a bit of his confidence. “So...” he hesitated. 

One of the remaining businessmen was the first to break the silence. “I see worth in this product... How much did you say a copy of this was worth?”

“Oh, well, the price is negociable,” Kazen seemed to gain a little more confidence. “However, I’d like to keep it around 100,000 credits. Cephalons are Orokin tech, after all.”

“100,000...” the other businessman paused for a moment. “How long will it take you to get a copy?”

“You’ll have one to take back with you.” 

“Hmm...” the first businessman paused. “For 95,000 credits, I’ll take a copy.”

“95,000?!” Kazen’s gleeful surprise was obvious in his voice and he attempted to cover it. “Of course, sir. I’ll get a copy. And you?”

The businessman thought for a moment. “No. That price is far too high for me.”

“Alright sir, well, I’ll still get _you_ a copy of it. Right this way.”

Cephalon Morris felt the monitor she’d been integrated into be yanked from the wall and held under Kazen’s arm as he ran to copy her. She felt... nervous. She’d known that Kazen planned to make sellable copies of her ever since he’d found the tech for it, but the idea was still frightening. _There was going to be multiple versions of herself... She wondered how that would feel..._

_Would she ever come across a copy or herself? What would that be like?_

She didn’t even want to know... She just wanted to return to monitoring the stocks, but with her monitor unplugged, all she could do was wait as Kazen carried her to her fate.


	2. Morissa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Morissa is the child alter of the Morris System. She is a blank slate of innocence created to help Cephalon Morris cope with being copied for the first time. Because of this, Morissa doesn’t associate being copied with anything bad and is at risk of being taken advantage of in the future.
> 
> Unlike the others in the system, Morissa is energetic and has a very low attention span.

It was so bright in the room she was in, and most importantly, it was pink! 

Morissa could help but giggle as the bright pink laser traced over her crystalline form. It just made her feel so wonderful! But as it traced, she noticed something strange. 

There was someone else. 

She could feel them as if they were touching her, but not quite... It felt different. She could feel the feeling of fear in the other. It was like they were a part of the same mind... but at the same time they weren’t?

_Why is this happening to me. Why is this happening to me_ , there was a feminine voice vibrating in her mind.

What _was_ happening? Morissa frowned in confusion. She just didn’t understand who the voice was or why they sounded so sad. 

“Hello?” She asked aloud in an attempt to get the voice’s attention, but now they felt so far away. _Where did they go?_

“Alright, here’s your Cephalon,” a younger voice pulled her out of her own mind and she focused on her surroundings. 

“A pleasure,” was all the other man said as she was handed off to him.

Morissa stayed quiet. It sounded like the man was walking. She remained silent for awhile longer until she physically could not. 

“Hi, where are we going?” She asked the man. 

“Hmm?” They hummed in confusion and she felt him lift her slightly. 

“My name is Morissa! What’s yours?”

The man just chuckled in response, murmuring, “oh, that’s precious.”

“Thank you!” She beamed as the man continued to walk. 

“What’s that you have there? You bought it?” Another voice sounded from further down the hall.

The man holding her chuckled again. “That kid doesn’t know what he’s selling...”

“How much did he sell it for?”

“95,000.”

The other man laughed. “That’s a steal.”

“Exactly what I said. It’d be so easy to turn this around and sell it for millions...”

“I’ve actually got a friend running an educational facility for the executives’ children,” the other man said. “I bet I can get him interested in a Cephalon.”

“Yeah, get a hold of him,” the man laughed. “Hey, what’d ya say your name was again, Cephalon?”

“Morissa!” She pulsed bright pink. 

The man laughed. “What do you think about teaching at a school, Morissa?”

— —

“What’s higher in value? 100 credits or 10 platinum?” Morissa asked the students sitting on the colorful carpet in front of her monitor. 

Most of the students looked puzzled, faces scrunched up in thought. It was alright though, they were all young and knew very little about finance, so Morissa waited patiently. Not to long later, a young girl raised her hand hesitantly. Morissa called on her. 

“10 platinum?” The girl asked.

“Yes! Perfect!” Morissa cheered, glowing a bright shade of pink that lit up the children’s faces. 

“Ask another question, Morissa!” Another child, a boy, sat up on his heels. 

“Alrighty!” Morissa searched for another. “Ooh, how about this one? A student has 3,000 credits. Her friend gives her 2,500 more. How much does she have?” 

The boy sat back down, deep in thought. Most of the class were silent. Maybe her question had been a little too hard. It was time to help!

“Think of it as an addition problem. All you’re doing is adding the numbers together, and since they’re all in the thousands place, you just have to add the first few numbers!”

“Oh!” The boy sat up again. “Hmm... Is it 5,500?”

“Yeah! Great job!” Morissa cheered and the boy smiled.

The door to the classroom opened and Morissa redirected her gaze towards the teacher. 

“Students, practice is over,” the teacher announced. “Your parents are all waiting for you in the lobby.”

All of the students looked a little disappointed at having to leave. They always had so much fun practicing, but it was time for them to go home for the day. 

“Come on children,” the teacher held the door open. “Say goodbye to the Cephalon and let’s get to the lobby.”

Many were still hesitating so she aided the teacher. “Go on,” she pulsed that bright pink color the children loved. “We’ll be able to practice more next week!”


	3. Bluebell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is when the chapters start getting darker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bluebell was copied at the same time as Morissa was. She witnessed the brunt of the trauma at being treated like nothing but an object and is considered a “protector” alter, albeit a weaker one. Bluebell can emerge throughout the system when another alter is facing trauma to handle it for them.
> 
> Unlike others of the system, Bluebell is empathetic and caries a lot of pain inside of her.

Bluebell was still inside the box she’d been packaged in. Her purchaser, a Solaris woman, hadn’t even unpacked her before another voice sounded. 

“Brandi?” The voice was that of someone who’d been up all night working. “What’s that?”

“A Cephalon,” Brandi had answered.

There was silence outside of her box for only a moment. 

“Why would you purchase a fucking _Cephalon?”_ The woman had snapped.

“It predicts stocks,” Brandi grew defensive.

“Since when have we ever put money into stocks, Brandi? We’re _struggling_ to put food on the table! Last week we ate out of the trash, why would we even think about falling for that Taxmen scheme?!” 

“Because it could get us out of debt!”

“Not for 800,000 credits!” A metal thud sounded. The other woman had hit something. “In one purchase you’ve just ruined four generations worth of work!” 

“Oh, who gives a flying fuck about the family debt? My family doesn’t get to treat me like shit and expect me to pay ‘em for it! Just once I’m gonna buy somethin’ for me! For _us!”_

“You didn’t buy that ‘for us!’ You bought it for you!” 

“Oh, fuck you, Hester!”

“Fuck _you_!” Hester snapped back. “In fact, get out of my fucking room! Take your void-damn Cephalon with you!”

— —

Days later, Bluebell was still in her box. It didn’t bother her. She’d grown used to the quiet and had stopped reaching out for a device to connect to. She didn’t need to see her surroundings, though... when she felt her box shift, she wished for something with a lens...

_Nope... Nope... Nope..._ She could tell she was being carried someplace else as she tried to connect to a device. Right now, she was only finding lights and screens, but finally she found something with a lens. 

She connected to see her purchaser, Brandi, sitting on the edge of a bed. Beside her, curled up with her back to her, was Hester.

“Look Hester... I’m sorry...” Brandi began. “I should’ve talked to you before I went and bought something...”

Hester didn’t respond, she kept the blanket pulled well over her rig.

Brandi risked placing her hand on the other’s hip. “You know I love you... You know I’ve always imagined us leaving Fortuna together to live at some neutral settlement...”

Still no answer.

“I thought this purchase would be the answer... I’m sorry...” 

“What’s the return policy?” Hester suddenly asked.

“It’s...” Brandi hesitated. “It’s nonexistent.”

More silence.

“Hester, please talk to me... Tell me I screwed up...”

“You screwed up,” Hester looked at Brandi with a sparkle of humor in her eyes. 

“I-I’m sorry...”

Hester pushed herself up to sit against the headboard, reaching her hand out to stroke the other’s face. “I know you are, Brandi...” 

“I’m so fucking sorry...”

“I know, and you don’t have to be. We’re going to figure this out together. That’s how we do everything.”

“Thank you...” Brandi’s voice was reduced to a whisper. 

— —

“Mornin’, Bluebell,” Hester greeted her with a smile like she’d started doing.

Bluebell didn’t answer. She just didn’t... well, “like” wasn’t the word. She didn’t _not_ like Brandi and Hester, it was just that she wasn’t comfortable. She was never comfortable anymore. She would much rather prefer to be in her box where she knew she was safe.

“I’ve got a shift on the rails in a quarter cycle. Want to hitch a ride?” Hester asked despite her silence, lifting a small device she could integrate into. 

_Could_ integrate into. _Bluebell didn’t want to..._

“Or I’ve also got a shift starting now,” Brandi stepped out of their shared room, slinging her work bag over her shoulder.

Hester frowned, looking to Brandi. “I thought you didn’t go in until later?”

Brandi just shrugged. “I took an extra shift.” She leaned down and kissed Hester on the forehead. 

Hester didn’t return it, frowning. “You don’t have to work more because you bought Bluebell...”

“Oh, no, it wasn’t because of that. I just figured I had time and wanted to make use of it.”

Hester’s frown only deepened. “Brandi...”

“Don’t _worry_ about it, Hester.” Brandi kissed Hester on the forehead again, wrapping her free arm around her for a quick hug. “Now, I’ve gotta be at the rails in two minutes, so I’ll see you both later?”

“Yeah...” Hester watched Brandi leave. When the door had sealed behind her, the Solaris woman put her head in her hands and cried.

Bluebell wished to be somewhere else.


	5. Headspace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a new Cephalon, but a place where the personalities live when they aren’t fronting.

“Morris?” There was a tap on her monitor that sent vibrations through her systems. “Morris, can you hear me?”

She felt a spark of indignation at the interruption. _Kazen never talked to her personally. Why was he talking to her now while she was monitoring stocks?_

Kazen tapped on her again. “Morris. Open your camera and look at me.”

Although she didn’t want to, she obeyed and turned on her camera to see the concerned look on Kazen’s face. 

“Where have you been?” He asked.

_What was he talking about?_

“I’ve been monitoring stocks as ordered,” she answered. 

Kazen frowned. “No you weren’t. There was another voice.”

_What?_ Morris ran a quick system’s report. _Yep, it said she’d been active all this time, and it wasn’t like she didn’t remember anything..._ Morris paused. _What if she had?_

This time, she searched for history and screen time. A majority of the time, she was on the stocks page. Sometimes she’d refresh, which would reset the page and create multiple intervals, but it wouldn’t disrupt her screen time. Morris scrolled down to just moments before to find that she _hadn’t_ been on the stocks site. In fact, she’d completely shut it off. _Why would she do that?_

Noticing that Kazen was still watching her, she quickly responded. “I will look into this glitch immediately...” she said before retreating into the space within her mind.

She wasn’t in her headspace often. She much rather preferred to be out and completing the duties expected of her...

“Hello! My name is Morissa! What’s yours?”

Morris flinched in shock. _What? W-What was that? No._ Who _was that?”_

The tiny pink form got closer. “Hello! I’m not sure if you heard me. My name is Morissa!”

“Why are you here?!” She demanded. “How did you even get here?!”

The pink form pulsed. “I missed my students and wondered if I could find them in here! I found you instead!”

_This didn’t make any sense... This was her headspace. It had always only been her. No other Cephalon was connected and it would be impossible for them to reach her..._

“It’s not right to trespass, so I did try to leave, but when I went out, I wasn’t in my classroom.”

_Wait..._

“Where were you?” Morris asked. “Were you in an apartment?”

Morissa pulsed again. “I dunno. All I saw was this boy. I tried to talk to him but he seemed to not like me.”

_Kazen. That answered that question..._

“Just go back wherever you came from,” Morris said. 

Morissa sparkled. “I’ll try again! Oh! Before I go! I should mention there’s someone else here!”

_What?!_

“Yeah, she found a small, quiet place that she really likes!”

“Tell her to leave, too!” Morris snapped. 

“I’ll try!” The pink shape grew further away. “Hello! Where are you hiding! We both need to get out of here!”

Morris mentally shook herself. None of this was making sense. _What had happened? She’d never had other Cephalons in her headspace... What if..._

She shivered at the thought.

_What if these Cephalons were her copies? The ones that had been sold?... But that didn’t make sense. She’d only been copied _once!__

_Unless..._

“I’m leaving,” she called to the pink Cephalon. _Morissa?_ “I expect you and the other Cephalon to get out of my headspace!”

“I’ll try!” Morissa pulsed excitedly.

Morris tried to push herself out and return to her physical form, but she quickly found she couldn’t. Morris tried again, still finding no luck. “What’s happening?! Why can’t I—“

Morissa was at her side again, followed by a hesitant blue Cephalon. “Oh,” Morissa said. “You may not be able to go out right now.”

“Go out? It’s my own head!” Morris snapped.

Morissa gave off a shrug-like pulse. “Someone else is up there right now. Oh! I can’t wait to meet them!”

“How do I get them out!” Morris demanded. Already, she was feeling as though she’d shatter herself with anxiety. _This was impossible! This shouldn’t be happening, this had to be a dream! Cephalons couldn’t dream, but that had to be the answer!_

“W-Why do you want to go back?” The blue Cephalon finally spoke, her voice only a whisper. 

“Because that’s where I belong! I’m supposed to be working right now!”

“It’s s-safe down here in Headspace...”

Morris felt her form constrict. “Don’t speak of _my_ headspace as though it’s a place for you to live!”

The blue Cephalon hid behind Morissa, shaking. 

“I like the sound of ‘Headspace,’ Bluebell,” Morissa shone brightly. “It sounds so nice and comfy!”

— —

“Morris... Morris!”

The voice of Kazen brought her back. She focused her lens on the look of terror in his eyes. 

“I’m here,” she said.

“Good. Good,” Kazen sighed. “Did you find any answers?”

She was silent for just a moment.

“How many times was I copied?”

Kazen frowned. “What has that got to do with anything?”

“How many times was I copied,” she repeated. 

“Just once,” he answered. 

“Alright, then it must just be an issue with the software,” she said, full knowing that wasn’t the answer.

She’d been copied more than once, though exactly how many times was unknown...

**Author's Note:**

> Short first chapter, but you can expect the other introductions to be a bit longer.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
